About this Head of Manufacturing Operations role at Universal Business Team

Universal Business Team · Widnes, England, United Kingdom

Head of Operations

Widnes, Cheshire
Full-Time | Senior Leadership Role
£80,000 – £100,000 + Profit Share + Benefits

The Opportunity

I’m recruiting exclusively on behalf of a rapidly scaling UK-based group operating across marine, onsite and wholesale distribution, currently turning over £9.5–£10m with a clearly defined ambition to reach £40m by 2030.

This is a critical, newly created leadership role designed to bring operational rigour, structure and scalability into the business. The organisation is commercially strong, sales-led and entrepreneurial — what’s needed now is a senior operational leader who can strip back, rebuild and future-proof operations without disrupting momentum.

You will operate as a standalone operational silo, Initially reporting to the commercial director, with full autonomy to design systems, set KPIs and drive delivery across production, warehousing, logistics and international supply chains.

This role is not about maintaining the status quo — it’s about doing the extraordinary.

Key Objectives (12–24 month horizon)

Scale operational capability in line with aggressive growth plans
Improve DIFOT performance from 91% to 96%+, with international shipments targeted at 100%
Reduce project lead times to 2 weeks
Implement scalable systems across manufacturers, warehouses and logistics
Strengthen the relationship between sales and operations
Create structure without slowing the business down

What You’ll Be Accountable For

Operational Leadership

End-to-end ownership of operations across UK and international sites
Oversight of multiple warehouses (including Europe) and subcontract manufacturers
Direct management of warehouse leadership and operational teams

Production & Supply Chain

Managing 3–4 key manufacturing partners (with 10–12 factory-based personnel)
Production planning, forecasting and component control
JIT / Lean principles where appropriate
Oversight of technical specification checks (technical team to transfer into role)

Logistics, Customs & Compliance

Full responsibility for import/export operations and international delivery systems
Customs documentation, commercial invoices and shipment control
ISO, H&S and project delivery compliance

Systems & Process Improvement

Strip back legacy processes and rebuild scalable, joined-up systems
ERP / supply chain system optimisation
Stock control, purchasing, dispatch and delivery performance
KPI setting, reporting and accountability frameworks

This is a hands-on leadership role — you will be expected to roll your sleeves up where required while still operating at a strategic level.

The Profile That Will Succeed

This role will suit someone who is:

Humble, hungry and smart — no ego, high accountability
Solutions-focused, pragmatic and resilient
Customer-focused mindset that is willing to do the extraordinary
Comfortable challenging the norm and “taking the bull by the horns”
Calm under pressure with ability to work with other colleagues to demanding deadlines
Commercially aware and deeply operationally credible

Experience & Capability

Senior operations leadership within manufacturing, wholesale or distribution
Strong background in metalwork / engineering / manufacturing environments
Proven experience managing subcontract manufacturers
Deep understanding of import/export, customs and international logistics
Track record of scaling operations in fast-growth businesses
Systems-led, data-driven and IT savvy (Excel competence beneficial)

You won’t be fazed by complexity, ambiguity or hard work — you’ll thrive on it.

What’s on Offer

£80,000 – £100,000 base salary (DOE)
Profit share bonus
Company vehicle
Private medical insurance
Laptop and phone
25 days holiday + bank holidays
On-site parking
Autonomy, influence and genuine board-level exposure
The opportunity to architect operations in a business with serious growth ambition

Working Pattern

Core hours: 7:30am – 5:00pm
Flexibility required to meet operational demands

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About Universal Business Team

Universal Business Team (“UBT”) is a global enterprise spanning 19 countries across the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Central America and Australasia. UBT, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, is a diversified business consultancy that supports clients with business-advisory and group-buying services with the objective to help businesses develop a competitive edge.

UBT was launched in 2009 in response to the Global Financial Crisis to support client organisations that were either in distress or looking to improve their competitiveness and financial performance. Currently, UBT turns over $500M (AUD) and has aspirations for significant growth over the next three to five years. A recent decision was made to bring four separate global regions together under the one global brand and leadership team.

UBT’s business advisory services comprise corporate training, consulting, recruitment, accounting, and group buying services. UBT facilitates leadership and business excellence for our client’s in their respective industries. Through the group buying function, UBT nurtures mutually-beneficial relationships between member businesses and world-leading providers of business goods and services. The outcome to which we strive is a “win-win” for small-to-medium enterprises and big business alike.

UBT provides services and products to approximately 3,000 independent, family-owned businesses globally with combined annual revenues exceeding $12B (AUD). The majority are small to medium sized enterprises with typical annual revenue ranges between $5m-$20m. However, there are also some larger businesses with annual revenues in the range of $100m-$250m.

UBT supports clients by providing products, services and support designed to increase their profitability and growth. The after-tax profits generated by UBT are reinvested into community initiatives, predominantly through schools and charities.,

UBT Recruitment are an Equal Opportunities Employer. We will apply a rigorous, objective selection process using non-discriminatory criteria, as far as possible on behalf of all the businesses we recruit for.
To view our policy in full please contact uk.recruitment@ubteam.com

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